It is almost the end of October, which means it is time for a new episode. This episode begins with a review of Duelcon and John's results from the Friday night tournament at the convention. Next, the guys talk about what they have been doing hobbywise. Finally, a new segment of the show is introduced with a discussion on drybrushing.
Email
John: equinox@unstabledice.com
Andrew: andrew@unstabledice.com
Nerd Rage: nerdrage@unstabledice.com
Links
Duelcon: Website | Facebook | 40K Radio
The Waaaghcast: Website | Facebook
Sponsors
Rare Choice Games: Facebook | YouTube
Friday, October 26, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
The Citadel Finecast Experience
The few Citadel Finecast models I had before this week were ones I purchased off of EBay and were already assembled and cleaned upon arrival. My assumption was that at this point, GW had worked out any quality issues the process and anything new or recently cast would be of a higher standard. Was I wrong.
This week I worked on Orikan the Diviner and the model crumbled as I removed it from the packaging. The head on the staff was so fragile that it broke in numerous places just from me touching it. The mold lines were obvious and deep, such that I wonder if it was miscast. The air bubble holes are in places that are obvious if I were to paint it, but in positions that are going to be difficult to fill.
I know to most this is old news, but again I am shocked that GW has not made improvements to the process since the original launch of Failcast. Most companies would have pulled the line or at least attempted to make changes based on the negative reviews and PR. More to the point, I have not experienced these issues with the FW kits (minor problems sure, but not crumbling and horrible miscasts and mold lines).
In the end, a year later and I cannot still believe that GW has continued with the Finecast experiment. While GW is making an effort to move everything to plastic, some of these amazing sculpts will never be possible in that format, so GW needs to find an alternative.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Chaos Dwarf Test Model
Looking for feedback on this model and whether I should continue with the color scheme or switch the armour to black/gold or red/gold..
Friday, September 28, 2012
Limitations and Rants, ahoy!
I couldn't hold it in any longer and wanted to share the awesomeness of the latest White Dwarf; more specifically, Jervis Johnson's monthly article. I have long railed against any "composition scores" (ie, limitations), though I'm not the only one. I don't like not being able to use the fun and neat things I've built and painted. Therefore, I will never again (1st and only was long ago) go to a tournament with artificial limits (or "comp systems"), because for me, that automatically makes it unenjoyable before it even begins. I don't like being told what toys I can and can't play with. I'm an adult! I can make my own choices, thanks.
Anyway, I'd like to share what he writes on the subject, because it only vindicates the no-limits camp and shows how bad limitations affect the community. I'll try to just stick to the highlights.
"If you've been playing any of our games for a while, you'll have noticed that we've removed a lot of the limitations from our army lists. .../... A number of readers have asked me why."
"I guess the first thing to say is that our army lists are, of course, full of limitations of one form or another. So a points value is a limitation, as are the restriction on what troop types you can take. / Then there are specific unit limitations, like those I mentioned at the start of the column. Our modern Warhammer lists limit the number of Rare and Special units of the same type that you can include. We use these limits to do two things: to allow you to play an enjoyable game and, just as importantly, to make sure that a tabletop army is a reasonably close representation of the way the army would look in real life, or verisimilitude."
"However, we see such limitations as a necessary evil. Why? Well in a nutshell, because any limitations we impose stop you from adding the models you want to your collection. Let's face it, when all is said and done, ours is primarily a collecting hobby. Of course, we paint the miniatures we've collected and play games with them, but these are things that we do with our collection; the act of collecting the miniatures come first. This is why our games in their purest form boil down to 'my collection vs your collection'."
"We simply collected the models we like the look of and played games with them, and I have to say that's pretty much what I do to this day."
"When Games Workshop started out we were only dimly aware of the importance of such limitations and so we were rather profligate with the use of limitations in our army lists. Over time though, we learnt the error of our ways, and now we try to write army lists with as few limitations as possible. After all, we're hobbyists and collectors too, and we fell the pinch of artificial limitations on what models we can collect just as much as anyone else. Of course, our army lists will always need some limitation on what you can use, for the reason I explained above (enjoyment and verisimilitude, for example). We just try to make sure that they are as few as possible."
"Part of the reason I've gone on at such length about 'limiting limitations' is that quite a lot of the house rules I see players using add additional limitations to those found in our army lists. For example, a very common house rule is to limit the maximum size of a unit, or not allow players to use special characters. There's nothing wrong with this - longtime readers will know that one of the things I feel very strongly about is that the option to create house rules for our games is one of the things that makes them so enjoyable to play - but I do advise caution when applying similar house rules to your own games."
"All too often the only effect they have is to stop a player using some of the models in his collection, without having any real impact on the enjoyment or verisimilitude. Instead, I'd recommend trying a few games where you use house rules to take away limitations, rather than add more. For example, why not say that in your next game of Warhammer 40,000 you will ignore the Force Organization chart. I think you'll be surprised at how enjoyable and liberating such an exercise can be."
Anyway, I'd like to share what he writes on the subject, because it only vindicates the no-limits camp and shows how bad limitations affect the community. I'll try to just stick to the highlights.
"If you've been playing any of our games for a while, you'll have noticed that we've removed a lot of the limitations from our army lists. .../... A number of readers have asked me why."
"I guess the first thing to say is that our army lists are, of course, full of limitations of one form or another. So a points value is a limitation, as are the restriction on what troop types you can take. / Then there are specific unit limitations, like those I mentioned at the start of the column. Our modern Warhammer lists limit the number of Rare and Special units of the same type that you can include. We use these limits to do two things: to allow you to play an enjoyable game and, just as importantly, to make sure that a tabletop army is a reasonably close representation of the way the army would look in real life, or verisimilitude."
"However, we see such limitations as a necessary evil. Why? Well in a nutshell, because any limitations we impose stop you from adding the models you want to your collection. Let's face it, when all is said and done, ours is primarily a collecting hobby. Of course, we paint the miniatures we've collected and play games with them, but these are things that we do with our collection; the act of collecting the miniatures come first. This is why our games in their purest form boil down to 'my collection vs your collection'."
"We simply collected the models we like the look of and played games with them, and I have to say that's pretty much what I do to this day."
"When Games Workshop started out we were only dimly aware of the importance of such limitations and so we were rather profligate with the use of limitations in our army lists. Over time though, we learnt the error of our ways, and now we try to write army lists with as few limitations as possible. After all, we're hobbyists and collectors too, and we fell the pinch of artificial limitations on what models we can collect just as much as anyone else. Of course, our army lists will always need some limitation on what you can use, for the reason I explained above (enjoyment and verisimilitude, for example). We just try to make sure that they are as few as possible."
"Part of the reason I've gone on at such length about 'limiting limitations' is that quite a lot of the house rules I see players using add additional limitations to those found in our army lists. For example, a very common house rule is to limit the maximum size of a unit, or not allow players to use special characters. There's nothing wrong with this - longtime readers will know that one of the things I feel very strongly about is that the option to create house rules for our games is one of the things that makes them so enjoyable to play - but I do advise caution when applying similar house rules to your own games."
"All too often the only effect they have is to stop a player using some of the models in his collection, without having any real impact on the enjoyment or verisimilitude. Instead, I'd recommend trying a few games where you use house rules to take away limitations, rather than add more. For example, why not say that in your next game of Warhammer 40,000 you will ignore the Force Organization chart. I think you'll be surprised at how enjoyable and liberating such an exercise can be."
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Episode 5 - Dark Vengeance, IWFB #4 & Waste Wars IX
Episode 5 has
arrived and it is jumbo sized. This
episode begins with Andrew and John chatting about all of the conventions
Andrew attended in August. Next, John
reviews IWFB #4 at the Chicago Battle Bunker.
After John’s review, Andrew tags in Chuck, who joins the episode to
discuss Waste Wars IX. After discussing
the tournament, Andrew and John tear into the new 40K box-set, Dark Vengeance
and debate which model is the best out of the new set. Finally, someone other than John has some
rage to share on the show.
Andrew's Email: Andrew@unstabledice.com
John's Email: Equinox@unstabledice.com
Nerd Rage: Nerdrage@unstabledice.com
Links
The Waaagh Cast! on Facebook
Chuck's Blog
The Waaagh Cast Cup - Season 2
The Damsels of Dorkington on Facebook
The Damsels of Dorkington website
GENCON website
Sponsors
Rare Choice Games on Facebook
Rare Choice Games on YouTube
The venn diagram. Which of the four are you?
Direct Download | iTunes
Andrew's Email: Andrew@unstabledice.com
John's Email: Equinox@unstabledice.com
Nerd Rage: Nerdrage@unstabledice.com
Links
The Waaagh Cast! on Facebook
Chuck's Blog
The Waaagh Cast Cup - Season 2
The Damsels of Dorkington on Facebook
The Damsels of Dorkington website
GENCON website
Sponsors
Rare Choice Games on Facebook
Rare Choice Games on YouTube
The venn diagram. Which of the four are you?
Direct Download | iTunes
Friday, August 24, 2012
Episode 4 - Electric Demons
Finally, the fourth episode of the Unstable Dice Podcast is available for download. In this episode, John and special guest Chuck from the Waaaghcast discuss the new Daemons of Chaos. They also review some of the tournaments coming up in August and how they are preparing for them.
Andrew's Email: Andrew@unstabledice.com
John's Email: Equinox@unstabledice.com
Nerd Rage: Nerdrage@unstabledice.com
Links
The Waaagh Cast! on Facebook
Chuck's Blog
Invasion Kenosha
A Gathering of Might IX
Sponsors
Rare Choice Games on Facebook
Rare Choice Games on YouTube
Direct Download | iTunes
Andrew's Email: Andrew@unstabledice.com
John's Email: Equinox@unstabledice.com
Nerd Rage: Nerdrage@unstabledice.com
Links
The Waaagh Cast! on Facebook
Chuck's Blog
Invasion Kenosha
A Gathering of Might IX
Sponsors
Rare Choice Games on Facebook
Rare Choice Games on YouTube
Direct Download | iTunes
Friday, August 3, 2012
Battle Report: Necrons vs Orks (1000 points)
It had been many years since the Necrons had returned to the K’Enosha sector. Since that time, the orks had settled into a routine of watching grot produced fireworks displays and raising miniature squigs with massive mohawks. They had forgotten what it meant to face the purple menace.
In this battle report, Ernie and I face each other in the first of a series of games intended to teach us 40k 6th edition. Before the start of the game, we agreed that we would only use the basic rules and not include any flyers, psykers or fortifications. We also decided to set the game at 1000 points as not to overwhelm ourselves with a massive first battle under the new edition.
Ernie’s List
Warboss on bike
3 Nobz on a bike
Ork commandos
Trukk with boyz
Boyz
Dethdread
Zzap guns
John’s List
Necron Overlord w/ voidblade
3 Crypteks w/ tremor staffs
10 Necron Warriors
10 Necron Warriors
3 Scarab Swarms
1 Tomb Spyder
1 C’tan w/ Writhing Worldscape & Time Arrow
Early Rounds
Ernie began the game by moving forward his bikers and trukk and then following it up with a few shots from his Zzap guns. I responded in my turn by pushing a little forward and losing an immortal to a sabotaged objective. The second turn saw Ernie continue to advance and bring his ork commandos onto the table. On my second turn, my C’tan assaulted the Dethdread while the scarabs flew into the Zzap guns. The dread stood strong, but the grot manned weapons were chased from the table.
Middle Rounds
The middle of game revolved around Ernie attempting to charge my forces and me holding them back via good rounds of overwatch shooting. By the time we ended turn 4, Ernie only had his one unit of boyz holding the objective left on the table. We decided to call it a game at this point.
Conclusion
The game ended with my necron’s winning 5 to 3. After the game, Ernie and I discussed how things could have gone differently and how if he had brought a single flyer I would have likely been gunned down. We also got a good laugh at the boxing match between the Dethdread and C’tan.
Looking back on the game a week later, I feel I also got lucky with the fact that Ernie didn’t bring more long range shooting. He played his orks like a true warboss, but if could have sat back a little more, I would have been stuck footslogging my way across the battlefield. I also think that I got some really good rounds of overwatch shooting that hindered him from assaulting me. Overall, it was a tight game that taught us both a lot about the new edition.
In this battle report, Ernie and I face each other in the first of a series of games intended to teach us 40k 6th edition. Before the start of the game, we agreed that we would only use the basic rules and not include any flyers, psykers or fortifications. We also decided to set the game at 1000 points as not to overwhelm ourselves with a massive first battle under the new edition.
Ernie’s List
Warboss on bike
3 Nobz on a bike
Ork commandos
Trukk with boyz
Boyz
Dethdread
Zzap guns
John’s List
Necron Overlord w/ voidblade
3 Crypteks w/ tremor staffs
10 Necron Warriors
10 Necron Warriors
3 Scarab Swarms
1 Tomb Spyder
1 C’tan w/ Writhing Worldscape & Time Arrow
Early Rounds
Ernie began the game by moving forward his bikers and trukk and then following it up with a few shots from his Zzap guns. I responded in my turn by pushing a little forward and losing an immortal to a sabotaged objective. The second turn saw Ernie continue to advance and bring his ork commandos onto the table. On my second turn, my C’tan assaulted the Dethdread while the scarabs flew into the Zzap guns. The dread stood strong, but the grot manned weapons were chased from the table.
Middle Rounds
The middle of game revolved around Ernie attempting to charge my forces and me holding them back via good rounds of overwatch shooting. By the time we ended turn 4, Ernie only had his one unit of boyz holding the objective left on the table. We decided to call it a game at this point.
Conclusion
The game ended with my necron’s winning 5 to 3. After the game, Ernie and I discussed how things could have gone differently and how if he had brought a single flyer I would have likely been gunned down. We also got a good laugh at the boxing match between the Dethdread and C’tan.
Looking back on the game a week later, I feel I also got lucky with the fact that Ernie didn’t bring more long range shooting. He played his orks like a true warboss, but if could have sat back a little more, I would have been stuck footslogging my way across the battlefield. I also think that I got some really good rounds of overwatch shooting that hindered him from assaulting me. Overall, it was a tight game that taught us both a lot about the new edition.
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